My experience "trying" to move to Sweden

Please god, just end me now

Sorry to hear your problems,im a uk citizen trying to move to live with my girlfriend im just starting the process i went to mv the first staff person told me because im an u citizen i dont need to register here then the next woman at the desk 10 minutes later said i need to start an application for residency i had to fill out a massive form and they took fingerprints and photos and said i need to do an interview with them either at swedish embassy in uk or when im next over in sweden in december,then when i went to tax agency they said i need to bring passport proof of sufficent forms to support myself and health insurance i said pvt insurance they said yes i bought it and then i was told pvt insurance is not accepatble form of cover for me i need to get an s1 health cover from the uk i applied to them they refused to permit me one because they said once i move out of the uk they wont cover me,ive only been at it 4 weeks and its already doing my nut in.

They just say that I need to prove that I'm going to stay for 6 more months before they can give me a temporary personal number.

Unfortunately they're technically right on this point. AFAIK, you're only really entitled, by law, to be registered after you have been here for 12 months (with right of residence or a residence permit the entire time). SV exercises their discretion to register you before that if they're satisfied that you will stay for that long and if they don't want to do that, you probably can't force them to.

If you do have right of residence then going to MV is still pointless, because getting a residence permit on the basis of a relationship is likely to take way more than 6 months.

Maybe someone more experienced can weigh in, but to me it looks like your options are:

1) Just wait another 6 months - but note that you'll then still have to deal with the "comprehensive health insurance" issue.2) Enroll in a course of study that lasts 12 months or more. Also need health insurance.3) Get a job. It can be a really shitty job, as long as it's for 12 months or more. You can quit as soon as you have your personnummer. No need for health insurance then.4) Start your own business. Like the job, it only needs to be "serious" enough to show to SV. No need for health insurance.5) Apply for a residence permit. This will take the longest, but won't require health insurance and if you succeed SV will definitely register you.

Swedes are not straight forward people by nature that’s why they use the word “kanske” a lot, infact a Swede told me that even though they gave German free passage during the war, they still ended up acting neutral. So be prepared to deal with zig zag approach from them only for the person you spoke with to deny ever telling you whatever they told you.

The best way to deal with Swedes and the system is to go along with a printed copy of the law from riksdag and show them, otherwise they will keep on confusing and delaying you, tell them you are recording this conversation as evidence and will hold the person responsible for any mistakes.

Watch how they start acting all normal and start supplying you with all the right information you need. Never you take their words seriously unless they can write it down in an email or record the conversation. The government also records conversation also, so it’s a systemic thing.

This has worked for me a lot here and I learnt this after a long time.

"kanske" is also the state directed default. Swedes don't think for themselves, they wait to be directed how to think, about everything. Such behaviour has been normalised over decades, resulting in the very Swedish "empty-shell" syndrome.

And do not underestimate the power of "shaming" in Sweden. It is the only way to get some action happening. Sad but true. Apache is correct, the threat, even if only subtle, of "shame", and not the secret kind, but possibly the very public demonstration thereof, will make any Swede jump into action (yet still, even when giving it their all, don't expect too much).

A Swede's worst nightmare is to feel that they have been exposed for the lazy, useless, unthoughtful, confused and generally ignorant tots they often are. And they get away with this generally because they can depend on the fact that most, if not all, Swedes would never challenge them (socially taboo), for the same reasons (but with a dash of incompetence lined by a general lack of confidence), with the additional caveat that they are mortified by the thought of "conflict".

Any threat to their perceived feeling of "belonging" and "social acceptance" will drive them insane. They will do just about anything to prevent that; yes, even getting their job done finally.

Use it to your advantage! They will do their job, get it done, if for no other reason than just to get rid of you, and the desperate anxiety you have caused them, by simply expecting them to do the job they are being PAID to do!

"kanske" is also the state directed default. Swedes don't think for themselves, they wait to be directed how to think, about everything. Such behaviour has been
... (show full quote)

"kanske" is also the state directed default. Swedes don't think for themselves, they wait to be directed how to think, about everything. Such behaviour has been normalised over decades, resulting in the very Swedish "empty-shell" syndrome.

And do not underestimate the power of "shaming" in Sweden. It is the only way to get some action happening. Sad but true. Apache is correct, the threat, even if only subtle, of "shame", and not the secret kind, but possibly the very public demonstration thereof, will make any Swede jump into action (yet still, even when giving it their all, don't expect too much).

A Swede's worst nightmare is to feel that they have been exposed for the lazy, useless, unthoughtful, confused and generally ignorant tots they often are. And they get away with this generally because they can depend on the fact that most, if not all, Swedes would never challenge them (socially taboo), for the same reasons (but with a dash of incompetence lined by a general lack of confidence), with the additional caveat that they are mortified by the thought of "conflict".

Any threat to their perceived feeling of "belonging" and "social acceptance" will drive them insane. They will do just about anything to prevent that; yes, even getting their job done finally.

Use it to your advantage! They will do their job, get it done, if for no other reason than just to get rid of you, and the desperate anxiety you have caused them, by simply expecting them to do the job they are being PAID to do!
... (hide full quote)

best choice would be to get a job and then apply for personnumer as EU citizen with a job in Sweden, thats the easiest way to get personnumer I know.if temporary personnumer is fine for you, simply go to job centre and demand it, they must request it from skateverket and give it to you by law. good luck

I've been visiting Sweden for the past 5 years or so. I met a Swedish girl and dated for a while, a lot of back and forth between countries. 2 months in Sweden, 2 months in Bermuda,etc. We got married and were expecting a baby so we decided to move to Sweden. I finished up my military service and officially moved in July.

Välkommen till hellvete...er... I mean Sverige.

Well, it seemed easy enough. I'm British and hold a EU passport. According to the government website, I just had to go and register with the tax agency. Cool, went in July. Waited in line for 3 hours. They had 4 desks available to help people, but no one in front of me spoke english or Swedish. So every line had to wait on the one translator they had available. They took a copy of my passport, marriage certificate, etc. They told me a letter would come in the mail with my personal number. Alright, that wasn't too bad...

Wrong... late August, as in the last week. I received a letter. Well, considering my name was spelled completely wrong, I didn't expect much. How do you mess up copying a 5 letter name from a passport? Not actually spelt wrong, as in a typo, they added completely new characters to it. Well, turns out I have to go back to the tax agency. Because my wife lived with me in my country, we had to prove we actually lived together and that I wasn't forcing her to stay against her will. Fair enough, that seems like a bad thing. So, off I go again... wait in line for 2 hours. They take my passport and birth cirtificate, marriage certificate etc again. Show them papers of our apartment lease, joint bank accounts etc. Told to wait again on mail...

Fast forward to late September now. Boom, here comes my letter. Hmmm, turns out they can't give me a personal number because I need to apply to the migration board first. OK, maybe I did something wrong. I follow the directions and off to Gävle I go. I arrive at the migration agency and something doesn't seem right. It's all Syrians and North Africans here... none the less, I wait in line, these guys were actually fast. Only took an hour. Damn, turns out the tax agency sent me to the refugee center. Those crafty buggers... so, I'm directed to the migration agency in Uppsala. Damn, that's far away. Ah well, on the train I go. Imagine my suprise when they tell me all I have to do is fill out a form online. Alright, back on the train and back up north we go.

Time to full out another form, I'm getting good at this now... Time to wait a couple more weeks. Ah, progress is being made. Plot twist, turns out that because I'm a EU citizen, I have right of residency. Ohhh, you tricky government agents. Well played... well played. So, I'm off to the tax agency tomorrow to do the exact same thing I did in July.

Well, that's long a read. Hope you enjoyed my journey to moving to Sweden. Oh, btw, I'm attending SFI and they just gave me a personal number? They said I can use that until I get my real one? I have no idea what's even real anymore.
... (hide full quote)

I am British but spent last 5 years living in Poland. Got married to my fiancee in March, moved to Sweden July 1st. Went to tax office in Avesta my first week with passport and marriage certificate both my wife's and my person number was delivered by post 5 days later. Have Swedish bank account, credit card, utilities etc.

So it just goes to show that actually it can be very straight forward and simple.

Moved here 4 years ago and never had any problems. Did a bit of research when i got here to see if applying for right of residency as an EU citizen or via the "sambo visa" route was the best option and opted for the latter. I filled out the form and sent it off and went to collect my temporary permit from the migration board 3 months later. I then went to Skatteverket after that to sort out my personnummer and received that within two weeks.

Well... some good news. I found out why I was failing SFI. Why they held me back for 2 months now. On the test I was spelling the Swedish word for key, as nickel instead of nyckel. I shit you not... had to repeat the class for twice because of a simple spelling mistake. I went to a different teacher this time to take the test to see if it would make a difference. Besides that, the only other thing I got wrong was I forgot to put a circle above the a for the word spring, vår.

What the actual fuck Sweden...

No news on the tax agency. Going back tomorrow to see if they have "figured" out what to do about Brexit lol.

Question for you guys, could I not just apply for citizenship through my daughter or wife? Would that be easier than trying to get a personummer the way I have been going about it.

Well... some good news. I found out why I was failing SFI. Why they held me back for 2 months now. On the test I was spelling the Swedish word for key, as nickel instead of ny
... (show full quote)

Well... some good news. I found out why I was failing SFI. Why they held me back for 2 months now. On the test I was spelling the Swedish word for key, as nickel instead of nyckel. I shit you not... had to repeat the class for twice because of a simple spelling mistake. I went to a different teacher this time to take the test to see if it would make a difference. Besides that, the only other thing I got wrong was I forgot to put a circle above the a for the word spring, vår.

What the actual fuck Sweden...

No news on the tax agency. Going back tomorrow to see if they have "figured" out what to do about Brexit lol.

Question for you guys, could I not just apply for citizenship through my daughter or wife? Would that be easier than trying to get a personummer the way I have been going about it.
... (hide full quote)

Are you serious, that you repeated the class twice?? Well, you must be fluent by now then...

You cannot get citizenship until you meet the residency requirement, marriage can shorten time, but you still need to reside. I think there is an exemption when you are married for like 10/15 years or something like that... and reside outside Sweden.

Not the entire class. SFI is split into different levels. I am in the second last class because I had enough education to skip all the rest. It can be as quick as 1 month in each class level. I just have to complete the next level and technically I'm done with SFI. Then I can move onto college classes or something if I understand correctly.

Ah ok. In Bermuda, as long as you're married you can stay and own a business, work etc without a permit. And if you get divorced you can stay until your child is 22.

I could not love a woman enough to come back to Sweden, even if she woke me every morning with a BJ, because the other 23 hours and 50 minutes I'd be a second class citizen. You either have to come from a 3rd World country to accept this nonsense or have the personality of a librarian tree-hugging feminist to fit in.

I could not love a woman enough to come back to Sweden, even if she woke me every morning with a BJ, because the other 23 hours and 50 minutes I'd be a second class citize
... (show full quote)

I could not love a woman enough to come back to Sweden, even if she woke me every morning with a BJ, because the other 23 hours and 50 minutes I'd be a second class citizen. You either have to come from a 3rd World country to accept this nonsense or have the personality of a librarian tree-hugging feminist to fit in.
... (hide full quote)

I shared it on my discord group to see if any of the other Swedes could help. Hopefully you can see it and I don't have to re-upload it to imgur or something.

My wife couldn't translate it to me too well, neither could anyone else I asked. From what I understand, they want me to prove that my wife was in another country? I really don't understand what this has to do with me getting a personnumer here in Sweden... Can anyone offer their expertise?

It looks like they are processing you as a residency application on the grounds of being married to a Swede (which you shouldn't need as an EU citizen). They appear to want you to send them proof that your wife lived in UK territory with you e.g her job contract there, rental contract there etc. It rather looks like they are confused either by Brexit or by Bermuda being UK. Maybe both. I went to download a Swedish form for EU residents and couldn't find Great Britain under the list of EU countries. Puzzled I checked out the list of non-EU countries and there was Great Britain. It seems some of the Swedish bureaucracy at least thinks we have already left the EU!